Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.5833.

Several analysts recently weighed in on ALB shares. Citigroup upgraded Albemarle from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Albemarle from $200.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $205.00 to $185.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn cut their price objective on Albemarle from $188.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Albemarle from $210.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.6%

ALB stock opened at $135.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $171.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $169.44. Albemarle has a fifty-two week low of $64.24 and a fifty-two week high of $221.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 2.07. The firm has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a PE ratio of -39.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.34.

Albemarle (NYSE:ALB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The specialty chemicals company reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $1.71. Albemarle had a positive return on equity of 5.22% and a negative net margin of 5.00%.The company had revenue of $1.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.18) EPS. Albemarle’s quarterly revenue was up 32.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Albemarle will post 12.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Albemarle Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a dividend of $0.405 per share. This represents a $1.62 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. Albemarle’s dividend payout ratio is presently -47.51%.

Insider Activity

In other Albemarle news, CEO J Kent Masters sold 16,393 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $183.72, for a total transaction of $3,011,721.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 87,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,990.68. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Albemarle

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Albemarle in the first quarter valued at approximately $484,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Albemarle by 1,455.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 32,982 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $5,921,000 after acquiring an additional 30,862 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Community Bank & Trust NA purchased a new stake in Albemarle during the 1st quarter worth about $54,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Albemarle by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Albemarle by 9.3% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $1,558,000 after purchasing an additional 740 shares during the last quarter. 92.87% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation is a leading global specialty chemicals company primarily engaged in the production and distribution of lithium, bromine, and catalysts. Its lithium segment supplies key components used in rechargeable batteries for electric vehicles, portable electronics, and grid storage systems. The company’s bromine specialty products serve a wide range of industries, including oil and gas drilling fluids, fire safety solutions, and water treatment. In its catalysts division, Albemarle provides products for petroleum refining, chemical processing and emissions control.

Founded in 1994 as a spin-off from Ethyl Corporation, Albemarle has grown through strategic acquisitions and capacity expansions to become one of the world’s foremost chemical producers.